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what we can only admit in the dark.
It had all started one afternoon in Hagrid’s cottage, Harry, Ron and Hermione having come round for one of their usual catch ups. They'd talked about trivial things at first, upcoming exams and whatnot, until Hermione asked what creature they’d be meeting in the next mythical beast lesson. At the question, Hagrid shifted around uncomfortably in his seat, and hesitated a while before replying gruffly “Well, we won’t be having any lessons for a while I'm afraid.”
“Why not?” Harry replied, naturally curious. Hagrid paused once again, seemingly uncertain about what he was going to say. Eventually, he leaned in closer to the group and said in a significantly quieter voice, “well, I really ought to not tell you this, but.” Once again, he paused, looking around furtively as though at any moment someone was going to catch them. By this point Harry’s curiosity had peaked too practically unbearable levels, and Hermione was even worse, almost falling out of her chair with anticipation. Ron, it seemed, was slightly more nervous than eager, fingers anxiously drumming across the table as they all waited for the answer.
After Hagrid seemed certain that no-one could hear them, he continued, this time in a darker tone, as though he was reciting a curse, “there’s been rumours going round, whispers and all that, about disturbances in the woods, unusual sounds, scratch marks...” a pause. Even quieter now, “disappearances.”
“What do you thinks causing it?” Hermione asked, a considering frown on her face, one Harry had associated with her trying to find a solution to a mystery. Hagrid had gone to sit back in his chair now, and replied in his usual voice, “no-one’s quite sure. Might be a werewolf, might be a hippogriff. Might be nothing at all, just people making up stories, still, Professor Dumbledore doesn’t want me to do any more lessons in those woods till we’re sure though.”
They all sat in silence then, each lost in their own thoughts until Hagrid coughed and rose up out of his chair, muttering “ah, well, I think yer ought to go back to the school now, don’t want you stayin’ out here too long,” He then turned back towards the window, as if searching for something, before his attention was suddenly brought back to the group as he opened the door to show them out, waving distractedly before he shut the door. The trio then set off back towards the school, and once they were a fair distance away Harry turned towards the two of them and asked quietly “so what do you think it is?”
Ron then replied, “I don’t know, but I don’t want to find out!” at the exact time Hermione replied, “I don’t know, but we must find out!” The two then looked at each other, Ron with an incredulous expression, Hermione with a stubborn one. “You can’t seriously want to go and find that thing? Not even Hagrid will go out there!” Ron exclaimed, looking at Hermione as though she’d gone mad. Hermione simply struck him with one of her determined stares and reasoned, “come on Ron, we must find it. You know I love mysteries besides,” she then smiled slyly and placed her hand on his shoulder, leaning into his ear and quietly muttering, “It’s not like I can do it without your help, right?”
Ron blushed slightly and replied more loudly now “yeah, alright, I'll come.” Hermione then grinned triumphantly and placed a swift kiss to his cheek, causing Ron to turn an even deeper shade of red before turning to harry and asking, “you’re coming too, right?” “Yeah, of course” Harry answered, setting off back to the school again and shaking his head fondly at his best friends' antics.
After all, they’d been dating for a while now, but were still acting like giggling kids, both blushing when the other said anything even remotely coupley to the other in front of him. If he was being honest with himself, Harry could not be more relieved that they had this quest to go on. After all, he was very happy for his friends of course, and at least now he didn’t have to keep ignoring the painfully obvious crushes they had on one another, but he had to admit that with them being a couple now and everything, Harry had found himself more often than not becoming a third wheel, not a role he particularly liked at any rate.
Not to mention the fact that he wouldn’t mind a bit of romantic action himself, it wasn’t like he hadn’t gotten some offers, the occasional glance his way and all that, but so far, all these girls had been interested in was his past and all his ‘heroic adventures’ (though most of their understandings of his adventures were infected with the school’s usual gossip and hyperbole, essentially making them fiction compared to the actual event.) he could understand how that didn’t sound so bad, adoring fans and all that, but all harry really wanted was for someone to like him for him, not for his ‘legends’ He didn’t want to be an achievement to someone, he wanted a relationship.
Anyway, best not to dwell on such things, he decided, after all, at least this adventure would give him a chance to catch up with his friends, for things to be like old times, and who knows, they might even find something extraordinary. Mood improved, Harry then set off on a running pace towards the school, calling back jovially for the other two to try and keep up with him. Ron and Hermione then set of too, with a chorus of ‘hey!’ and ‘wait up!’ until they all arrived back at the school, panting and laughing, and getting prepared for the adventure.
They quickly made their way up to the common room and, after checking around to make sure no one was eavesdropping, Hermione got to work setting them assignments “right, I’ll get a spells book and a couple of elixirs, just in case. Ron, you get the medical supplies and Harry you get some food and supplies for the journey. We should be back by tomorrow evening, so just get the essentials. Right, meet back here in thirty minutes and try and be inconspicuous, we don’t want any professors to find out we’re going into the forest. All right?”
Harry and Ron both nodded and they all set off to find what they needed, Harry packing some light snacks, three blankets, his invisibility cloak (just in case it came in handy) and his wand of course. Fairly soon all three of them were back in their meeting place, now all carrying very large backpacks.
“We all ready for an adventure?” Harry asked, smiling at the other two as they both nodded enthusiastically. “Then let’s go” he said, and so the trio quietly made their way out of the school and towards the forest, not knowing that someone had been hiding in the shadows and, having overheard their conversation, resolved to follow them...
Something wasn’t right, harry thought, as they continued along the dusty forest path, the setting sun their only source of light, meaning they’d have to set up camp soon. There is no point in trying to find a mysterious creature if you can’t even see where you're going. Besides, they’d been travelling for a few hours now and, what with having to lug around all their supplies, they were all getting tired of travelling. In all honesty, Harry was beginning to think there wasn’t a creature at all, just people spinning tales, and yet he still couldn’t shake the lingering sense that there was something amiss.
It was this that caused him to stop in his tracks and pause, trying to tune out the sound of Hermione and Ron bickering about whether they’d gone the wrong way in favour of tuning in to the sounds of the forest, trying to hear if there was anything out of place. At first, there was nothing obvious, and Harry was about to shrug it off as nerves and move on – until he heard it.
Quiet, almost imperceptible, but certainly there. A shift in the tree line, rustling, something was there, something big. By this time the couple had stopped arguing and were looking over at Harry questioningly, Harry gestured for them to be quiet and then pointed towards the trees, tapping his ear to tell them to listen. The others still looked at him slightly confusedly, but still did as he asked. After a short while Harry heard the noise again, and from the slightly shocked looks on his friends faces he assumed they had too.
Hermione had her wand ready, and after a moment of fumbling so did Ron, harry then looked over at them, wand in his hand too, and nodded in direction of the trees. They returned the gesture, and soon all three of them were cautiously approaching the sound, wands at the ready. Once they were as close to the treeline as possible Harry motioned for them to stop, and then proceeded to sign a countdown. 3... 2...
on 1 they all leaped into the forest, causing the creature to stumble backwards and try to retreat. Hermione then quickly stepped forward and recited “encarcerous!” however the spell did not work as the creature, or person it seemed, then called out in an annoyingly familiar voice “finite incantatem!” at which Hermione’s spell was destroyed, however the person had stopped trying to retreat and was instead now fixing the group with an angered glare.
One the group was more than happy to return, as standing in front of them was quite possibly the most annoying person Harry had ever met. Draco Malfoy.
“Why are you here Malfoy?” Harry asked irritably, wand still pointed towards him in what he hoped was a threatening stance. Malfoy spat out “I could ask you the same question Potter.” Harry sighed angrily, his short patience already wearing thin. “That is none of your business” he spoke, taking a step towards Malfoy, as if trying to assert his dominance.
At the movement, Malfoy crossed his arms and took a step forward as well, before replying condescendingly “let me guess, you're out here on some little adventure to find a mysterious creature lurking in the woods, so you can all catch and return home heroes, hmm?” Harry blinked and took another step forward, trying to not let his surprise show on his face. “How did you know that?” Harry asked, pushing his wand in Malfoy’s direction demandingly.
However, Malfoy merely sneered and pushed away Harry’s wand with the back of his hand, taking another step closer so now the two were face to face, so close that Harry could feel Malfoy’s breath on his cheek, his sharp grey eyes practically piercing him.
Malfoy simply stared at him for a few moments before smirking and saying mockingly, “oh come now Potter, it’s not like your little group are the stealthiest of individuals. I heard your little conversation in the common room and the rest was simply guesswork. Knowing how incompetent you three could be I decided I ought to follow you and do the job properly.”
Harry then huffed and tried to think of a comeback, whilst also trying to ignore just how distracting having his enemy this close to him was, already feeling uncomfortable under Malfoy’s shrewd gaze but finding himself unable to tear himself away.
Eventually Hermione came to his aid, coming closer towards them and looking consideringly at Malfoy for a few moments before speaking bluntly “you have no idea how to get back to school, do you?” the new red colouring over Draco’s cheeks proved Hermione’s observation to be true, and harry couldn’t help but laugh slightly at the great Draco Malfoy’s inability to tell where he’s going. Hermione laughed as well before asking mockingly “so we’re the incompetent ones, are we? Because it sure seems that you need our help.”
Malfoy then seemed to come out of his embarrassed haze and turned to her angrily before shouting “nobody asked you, mud blood!” Harry felt his blood boil at the insult and without really thinking he pushed Malfoy roughly against a tree, furiously roaring “Don’t you dare call her that!” Malfoy simply looked at him, smirking before replying smugly “what are you going to do about its Potter?” At that, Harry felt his last dregs of patience turn to nought, and he raised his fist to punch Malfoy in his stupid, smug face – before being stopped by Hermione’s hand on his shoulder, gently pulling him back from Malfoy who now stood, leaning against the tree in a triumphant manner.
“It doesn’t matter Harry.” she said quietly, giving his shoulder a quick squeeze before turning back to Malfoy and declaring tiredly “well, I guess we have to take him with us then.” Ron then turned towards her and replied, shocked “what? No way he’s coming with us after what he said to you!”
He then moved to put a protective arm around her shoulder, fixing Malfoy with a maddened glare. Hermione smiled and leaned into him whilst quietly saying “I don’t want him to come with us either, but we can’t leave him alone out here, it wouldn’t be right.” Ron then sighed and pulled her a little closer “yeah, I guess you're right. But if he says that again, I'll do the slugulus eructo spell on him, properly this time.” Hermione chuckled and turned into Ron’s shoulder, replying softly “sounds fair.”
Harry watched all this whilst checking in with his own moral compass about taking Malfoy with them, truthfully, he would much rather just leave him here, but Hermione was right, they had to take him with them. Malfoy, it seemed, did not agree with the trio on this as he asked disgustedly “why would I ever travel with you willingly?” Harry then retorted back “you're in the woods, alone, with no sense of direction and no supplies, do you see many other options?”
Malfoy scowled at that, but seemingly having come to terms with their shared predicament, simply huffed and sullenly replied “fine, but don’t expect me to be happy about it Potter.” Harry just sighed and set of down the path, calling over his shoulder “Believe me Malfoy, neither of us are happy about this.”
The rest of the travelling had been utterly terrible. Hermione and Ron had walked in front, whispering amongst themselves and every so often glancing back, providing Harry with a sympathetic gaze whilst hitting Malfoy with a suspicious one. He and Malfoy followed a little way behind them, Harry walking beside him to ensure he didn’t try and get up to anything.
Malfoy, for his part, had been travelling silently, only letting out the occasional sigh or huff as he walked on, leaving Harry to continue on silently as well, awkwardly wringing his hands together and trying to think of ways to starve of the boredom that had overtaken his mind, wishing that Malfoy would say something so in the very least Harry could put some energy into arguing with him.
Don't get him wrong, arguing with Draco Malfoy was hardly a pleasant experience, after all Malfoy had an insufferable demeanour and his insults, as agravating as they were, were often quite clever and left Harry stumbling to catch up with him, a weakness Draco always managed to take advantage. Yet, no matter how infuriating they could be, they were in the very least stimulating, and on the rare occasions Harry won one he would feel ridiculously powerful afterwards, as though he’d just performed a great feat.
Besides, at least it wasn’t the usual spiel, intrusive questions about his scar, his past, people begging him to show them powerful magic and, upon realizing he wasn’t any better than they were, losing interest and leaving it was all so tedious, so predictable, and if there was one thing he’d give Malfoy ,it was that he wasn’t predictable. Aside from his hatred of course, that was expected. He supposed the feeling was mutual, though if he was to really think about it, Harry didn’t really hate Malfoy, disliked him certainly, and was intimidated by him perhaps, but he didn’t hate him.
He could simply ignore him of course, pretend he didn’t exist... and yet there was something about him, this magnetic pull, of what he couldn’t know, yet still it dragged Harry nearer, to the point where, despite how much he abhorred Malfoy’s company, he constantly found himself in it. There'd even been a time when he thought the two of them could have been friends... but he supposed there was no chance of that now.
Harry was lost in his thoughts until Hermione’s voice rang out, saying “the sun has set, we better make up camp.” Harry looked up at the sky and saw that it had indeed turned twilight, the last remnants of the sun now having slipped away. In some ways Harry was very grateful for the travelling being over for today, at least now they could stop with the awkward silent walking and Harry could think of things other than his somewhat confusing relationship with Draco Malfoy.
But on the other hand, he now had to spend an entire night with Malfoy, and who knows what he might do? Something told Harry that they wouldn’t get through tonight without something strange happening. Still, there wasn’t much that could be done. And so, after cursing his bad luck yet again Harry followed Hermione and Ron into the forest to prepare for a long night.
***********
Draco Malfoy was not a firm believer in luck. The natural kind that is, not the potion induced kind, the idea that some people, through no fault of their own, just happened to have incredible or horrible luck given to them by some otherworldly being just seemed ridiculous to him. Up till now, he’d been certain that it was simply a matter of hard work or laziness, and anything in between was simply a coincidence.
And yet, sitting down leaning against an uncomfortable tree and watching his worst enemy plus entourages give him dirty looks every five minutes as they set up camp, he couldn’t help but thing that the universe had a tiny bit of payback planned in this occurrence. He couldn’t blame it all on the universe, after all, it’s possible he was tempting this fate as he followed Potter and his group out of the school into the forest after he’d heard their poorly disguised plans.
In truth he wasn’t even sure why’d he’d done it, boredom had to play a big factor in his decision, after all, he had been having a cruelly tedious day, and Potter’s adventures, as terribly planned as they were, were in the very least exciting. Besides, the thought of finding their mysterious creature first and winding up Potter was too wonderful an opportunity to give up.
He'd be honest, as annoying as he found Potter’s presence, the rush he got from beating him was like nothing else, it was... exhilarating, powerful. He might even say it made him happy, as rare a feeling that was for him. But none of that was worth this punishment, a whole night spent with Potter and his friends with no chance of escape. He should have just run when he had the chance, he’d rather get lost in a mystical forest then be trapped here.
It was just in the moment, he gotten so caught up in angering Potter, watching something become unleashed in him, a fire, that seemed to spread through him, transforming those vivid green eyes into something more forceful, darker, something that sent excited chills down his spine as he became lost in the stare... god he hated him. Thinking it over, Draco Malfoy may not believe in luck, but karma? He might be starting to believe in that.
“Are you going to help or not?” Draco was torn out of his thought by the passive aggressive tone of, which one was it, oh yes, mugblood. Like this wasn’t hard enough, Draco thought as he leaned down further into the tree, not looking up as he answered in a disinterested tone “not.” Mugblood huffed angrily and leant down across from him, causing Draco to look up and fix her with a cool glare, hoping she’d get the message and move out of his space. Unfortunately, she did no such thing.
Instead, she fixed him with a glare of her own and angrily said, “look. We’re all in this together, whether you like it or not. So, unless you’d like to freeze through the night, I'd suggest you help set up the campfire.” Draco rolled his irritably, and said in a sarcastic tone, “I’m coldblooded, slitherin and all that.”
He then fixed her with a satisfied smile, which she responded to with a frustrated growl, looking like she was getting ready to rip his throughout – until harry spoke in a casual tone. “Oh, leave him be Hermione, after all.” Potter, being the annoying he is, then fixed Draco with a sympathetic smile, and said to him condescendingly, “I'm sure, being the rich boy he is, Draco doesn’t even know how to start a campfire.”
Draco then sighed indignantly, what sort of simpleton did Potter think he was, he’d show him. He then pointed at the sticks the others had already gathered and loudly pronounced, “Incendio!” all at once, there rose up a great burst of fire, so big it caused Ron to stumble back slightly with a startled yelp.
Mugblood gave him an unimpressed look and went over to go help her boyfriend, meanwhile Draco fixed his adversary with a look of discomtempt, asking crossly “happy now Potter?” Potter merely smiled smugly and came closer to the flames, replying chirpily “nice and warm Malfoy, nice and warm.” Draco let out a low growl at that, self-righteous jerk, and proceeded to close his eyes and lean his head back against the truck, trying to block out the annoying chatter of the fools surrounding him.
He stayed like this for a while until he heard what sounded like the start of a horror story, finding himself interested in what these idiots could come up with that was scary, he tuned in, though he’d soon wish he didn’t.
“The howls were getting louder and lounder, the students kept running but it was getting closer, so close they could hear it running behind them. Terrified, they turned around and saw it standing in the moonlight, it’s eyes shining blood red in the moonlight. The demon werewolf! The students were never heard from again, but they say, if you listen closely, you can still hear the howls off the beast in the night, waiting for its next prey.”
Ron then grinned triumphantly and looked around the group ending with a confident, “pretty scary right?” The Mugblood and Potter then both nodded and complemented his ‘terrifying tale’ though Draco doubted even they found it the slightest bit scary, still, if they weren’t going to stop this torture, it looked like it was up to him.
“You can’t seriously call that a horror story” he sniffed distaindedly, looking around the group questionably before continuing, “if you want to be scared, I suggest you let me do the story telling.” Ron then looked at him offendedly, the Mugblood with aggression, but it was Potter who spoke, eyes glittering in the firelight with interest “very well Malfoy, go for it.” more than happy to accept the challenge, Draco smiled darkly before replying quietly “very well” he then moved toward the firelight, and dimmed the flames slightly, making the atmosphere feel darker and more oppressive, perfect for the story. Draco then looked around the group for a moment, making sure he had their attention, before he began, voice low and ominous. “Decades ago, there was a secret society at Hogwarts, a group of incredibly powerful and dark wizards who called themselves ‘unus est occulatum.’ the hidden ones. The group was unheard of in the school, the members themselves being insignificant in school, looked over and ignored despite their incredible power. For a while, they remained in the shadows, but they soon grew resentful and, driven on by their students and professors' indifference and ignorance, they turned to a form of vengeance. They stole a book from the forbidden section of the library, the book had no name, nor author, yet inside it contained some of the oldest and most powerful spells ever written, unimaginable incantations, hexes, the kind of curses capable of destroying civilisations. Visions set on revenge, the group stole out one night, coming to the centre of this very forest, prepared to make the school pay for their mistreatment. In the darkness that the forest offered, the group lit a small fire and crowded around it, the leader of the group opening the book and then the society, in unison, chanted the dark curse they had found, one they knew would bring the school to its knees. They began quietly at first, their voices mere whispers.
‘conjuro te aeturnam, terra mortuorum, spiritus nocte, anima fraudator,sumus quod edimus’
And again, louder this time, something shifting inside them, they could feel the dark power forming, the beast emerging.
‘conjuro te aeturnam, terra mortuorum, spiritus nocte, anima fraudator,sumus quod edimus’
Once more, they were screaming now, animalistic shrieks, the spell had taken over their minds, driven them mad with rage and vengefulness, the beast was almost there now, closer, clawing its way through.
‘conjuro te aeturnam, terra mortuorum, spiritus nocte, anima fraudator,sumus quod edimus!’
There was a silence, and suddenly the fire went out!”
Draco dropped the flames to nearly nothing, a chorus of gasps going round at the near darkness. He smiled, yet continued gravely, “no-one knows what it looks like, those who have seen it, well... they aren’t able to tell anyone. No one knows how it comes, or why it comes. The students weren’t all destroyed instantly, no, it was one by one. We're not sure how it did it, but it’s said that you’ll know it’s come for you when you see it in your dreams, it doesn’t matter if you don’t know what it looks like, you’ll know then. But it won't just kill you, no, it’ll do something far worse... it will infest your very being, transform your worst fears into a prison inside your mind, trap you there, to live out an eternity of suffering and pain, meanwhile the creature itself leaves a piece of itself inside your body, keep you alive and acting as normal, to the outside world, your friends and family, it will seem like nothing has happened, meanwhile you exist only in your nightmares, a constantly horrifying never ending existence. A fate worse than death. It’s said the curse took out over half the students; the professors hadn’t realized anything was happening until it was too late. They did not manage to destroy the creature, instead it, and the society, all disappeared into the darkness.”
Draco dimmed the fire even further, the light now nearly non-existent, and spoke in a barely audible whisper. “The curse was never destroyed, and so the creature remains in this forest, prowling, waiting, so hungry, so desperate. It hasn’t tasted a human soul in so long that whenever a person is close enough, it won't be able to control itself. And in the darkness, in your dreams, where no one can save you, or hear you scream, it. Will. STRIKE!”
The flames rose up suddenly, roaring in the darkness of the forest and causing the Mugblood to let out a cry and Weasley to fall backwards, a terrified shriek falling from his mouth. Even potter looked disturbed, features pale and shocked. Draco then smiled, pleased with his performance, and said in his normal tone “I suppose you’d better hope that’s not the creature you're looking for. It's scary, huh?”
“Wait, you – you're not saying that thing’s actually real, are you?” Ron stuttered, pulling himself further back from Draco as though he was going to summon the beast himself. The mudblood, on seeing her boyfriend's distress, quickly came over to him and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, confidently replying, “of course it’s not real, Malfoy is just being a jerk like usual, making up stories.”
She then turned to give him a glare, and told him angrily, “you're going to have to try better than that.” Draco merely smiled at her and asked sarcastically, “oh really? Weren't at all scared by my story? Because the way you jumped a foot into the air at the ending would suggest otherwise.” Her face then turned red, though from rage or embarrassment Draco couldn’t tell, as she responded, “Just because your story was frightening doesn’t mean it’s true. Half the students falling victim to a dream-stalking nightmare creature, and you expect me to believe it was mentioned nowhere in the school’s history? Impossible!”
Draco widened his smile and retaliated with “do you think the school would broadcast the fact there was a creature that they couldn’t destroy that probably still stalks the grounds to this day? You can’t say they haven’t hidden this sort of thing from us before. Besides, the monster hid its tracks very well, for all you know, I could be under the curse.” Draco then grinned at her, as she shook her head indignantly and replied hotly, “well now your just being ridiculous!”
“Am I?” Draco asked, grin widening all the more as he watched the wizard huff into her hands exasperatedly, clearly trying to stop herself from getting flustered. Good luck with that, thought Draco, after all, if there was one thing he was good at it was getting underneath people’s skin. Draco’s feeling of victory was dampened somewhat by Potter’s unneeded quip of “well, you are quite beast like. Not all that difficult to believe.”
Draco flashed him a look of annoyance, he wouldn’t be turned into a joke, and was about to counter the remark when his attention was drawn to Weasley, who was now looking at him with uncertainty and leaning over to his mudblood and whispering in a highly non subtle manner “Hermione, you don’t - you don’t think he’s, he really is...?”
The mudblood then came closer to the babbling fool and wrapped an arm around his shoulders, replying softly, “of course not Ron. I’m sure he is just an annoying idiot, nothing more.” “How sure are you?” Weasley questioned frantically, looking at his girlfriend with a twinge of desperation. She then gently placed her hand on Weasley's cheek and smiled disgustingly softly at him before, ugh, leaning in and kissing him deeply, Weasley pulling her closer to secure the embrace.
Draco didn’t know how long they stayed like that, far too long is his opinion, until finally the girl pulled back and quietly answered, “that sure.” Weasley then smiled annoyingly and pulled her into his arms, the two of them resting against each other. The sight made Draco want to vomit, much too cutesy for his taste, and finding himself unable to watch the warm and snuggly scene for much longer, snapped tetchily “could you two love rats go do that somewhere else? Preferably over the edge of a cliff?”
The mudblood then smiled smugly at him and leaned over to place another kiss on Weasley's cheek, Draco really thought he was going to start vomiting soon, before leading him by the hand to a tree that was blessedly on the other side of Draco and out of his direct eyeline. Satisfied, Draco shifted to lean back against the tree and closed his eyes, trying to get some sleep.
He soon found attempting to sleep was going to be an uphill battle, unable to relax fully due to the suspicious sounding noises coming from their surroundings every two minutes, not to mention how he kept shivering due to his need to be isolated form the group meaning the fire was not doing anything useful for him. And on top of all that he couldn’t escape the whirlwind of thoughts rushing through his head, unable to get his mind to shut off.
All he could think about, though he really wishes he wouldn’t, was Weasley and the mudblood kissing and being all soft and gooey with each other. As much as he wanted to just be disgusted by it, he couldn’t help but feel somewhat jealous. After all, as much as he liked his own company, some-one else's affections wouldn’t go unwanted.
And he’d been given options certainly, both from his school life and his father’s suggestions, and the girls were fine and all, but they really weren’t Draco’s type. They were scholarly girls, quiet and sullen, and completely unwilling to engage in any of Draco’s attempts at debate. They rarely even acknowledged him, his father’s name coming out of their mouths more than his own. In truth, they bored him. He liked someone... challenging, stubborn, someone who’d put up a fight.
He liked a fiery spirit, but he couldn’t really think of anyone he knew well that had one.
Well, he thought amusedly, he supposed potter was quite fiery. he was stubborn, that was for sure, and was certainly a challenge on his patience. and in the very least, when he and Potter had their verbal spars, or their occasional physical ones, it was anything but boring. Still, what was he saying? of course Potter wasn’t a candidate, he hated Potter, and potter he, why, the thought of him and his worst enemy getting together, it was preposterous!
Besides, this was Potter they were talking about, the most popular boy in the school, sporty and laddish, no doubt he’d end up with some younger pretty girl if he wasn’t with one already. And it wasn’t like Potter, with mystical forest green eyes and infuriating, righteous smile would ever want to be with him... nor he with potter!
God, his thoughts had become incoherent, he needed some sleep, if only to get away from these confusing thoughts, no doubt induced by exhaustion and close contact. He'd forget all about it in the morning surely. With that Draco shifted against the trunk at his back and tried once again to slip into sleep, only to find his efforts interrupted by the presence of the one person he didn’t want to see kneeling next to him, much to close for comfort. Potter, how bloody wonderful.
***********
Harry Potter hadn’t been able to sleep. He'd been trying to for the better part of three hours, but his mind just wouldn’t shut down. Hermione and Ron had come to take one of the blankets and wish him goodnight a couple of hours ago and now lay curled up against each other on the other side of the fire, the only sign they were still alive being Ron’s none too soft snoring. Honestly, Harry wasn’t sure how Hermione dealt with it; she must be a deep sleeper or an incredibly supportive girlfriend. probably both.
Still, them going of had left Harry with nothing left to do but dwell on his boredom as he looked up at the sky, shifting his own blanket around to try and get comfortable. There was Malfoy of course, but he hadn’t moved since finishing his story and moving to lean back against his tree, and Harry wasn’t entirely certain he had enough energy to sustain an argument with Malfoy if he tried to engage with him.
Still, it wasn’t exactly warm, and Harry couldn’t help but feel slightly concerned for Malfoy as he watched his poorly concealed shivering, not something he liked to feel for the slitherin at any rate. Besides, pleasing his conscience may help him finally get to sleep. And so, slipping the blanket around his shoulders and grabbing the spare one for Malfoy, Harry slowly stood up and moved tiredly towards his adversary's tree, hesitating for a moment before deciding to kneel beside him and hold out the blanket as though it were a peace offering.
After a moment Malfoy looked up at him, clearly unimpressed, before replying sourly, “what do you want potter.” Harry sighed and pushed the blanket further forward, replying quietly “here.” Malfoy looked at the blanket with distain and replied petulantly “I’m not cold.” just then another gust of wind blew in through the trees, and Malfoy wrapped his arms around himself tightly as he tried to stifle his shivering. “You look it.” harry replied dryly, before dropping the blanket unceremoniously into Malfoy’s lap and continuing tiredly “just take it.”
Malfoy then scowled at him and purposely ignored the blanket for a few moments until another gust of wind, sharper than the first, blew in and he hunched over form the cold. He then took the blanket and wrapped it tightly around himself, frown deepening as Harry found himself unable to hold back a chuckle at the sight of Malfoy, disgruntled and displeased, curled up in a fluffy blanket.
Malfoy’s cheeks burned red as he spoke through gritted teeth, “you can leave now Potter.” Harry, finding himself enjoying this more that his own feeble attempts at sleep merely smiled and said cheekily “you know, I'm starting to feel comfortable.” with that, he tightened his own blanket and came to land next to Malfoy, leaning back against the tree with a contented hum to match Malfoy’s cross one.
They sat in silence for a short while, Harry finding himself reflecting on the events of the evening and looking over at Malfoy once and a while as he considered some things. Eventually he found himself studying Malfoy, if for nothing else to do. He realised then that he’d never seen him like this before, what with Malfoy priding himself on keeping clean and neat, Harry had never really seen what he’d look like withought all that.
Now that was gone Harry started to notice certain things, like the deep bruise-like bags underneath his eyes, too deep to have just been formed by today’s events. And his hair, freed from the gel that usually held it back in place Harry could see the natural light blond colouring, soft and wavy and a bit messy, it certainly suited him.
In the firelight, Harry could see Malfoy’s eyes much more clearly now too, they were grey, yes, but not sharp and steel like as he’d first thought, no, they were softer, like a grey mist, they seemed to hold mysteries in them, secrets, they were magical, captivating, extraordinary... And here, in the darkness, Harry felt as though he is seeing a different version of Malfoy, as though his sharp edges and defences had whittled away to reveal something underneath the surface, something deeper, something... beautiful.
“Why are you staring at me potter?” Malfoy’s harsh tone pulled him out of his thoughts, what had he been thinking about exactly? and his brain slowly tried to come up with an answer. Eventually, he remembered something he’d been wondering about earlier and decided now was as good a time to ask as any.
“Where did you learn that story?” he asked curiously, mind suddenly refocused on what he’d been thinking earlier. After all, the story was quite dark, and Harry had to wonder, if he hadn’t found it in the Hogwarts library, where on earth did he learn it from?
for a while, he thought Malfoy wouldn’t answer, his gaze focused on the flames, until eventually, he began to speak in a quiet tone, still refusing to look at Harry as he said “when I was a child, my father was determined to train me to be a great wizard before I arrived at Hogwarts, didn’t want me disgracing the family name by needed help to learn.
And so, I trained, and eventually I knew all the techniques by memory, but my father did not believe this was enough. He believes that to be a great wizard I had to be fearless, felt that childish things like fear could only hold power back, make you weak. And so, he’d tell me these stories, every night, before I went to sleep, and they’d give me nightmares. So, he would punish me, and continue with the tales. Eventually, I gave up on sleeping through the night, it was a waste of time, and chose to spend it training. My father didn’t mind, if it improved my forms and made me a better wizard, then so be it. He stopped, after a while, once he felt like I'd learned my lesson. But I still remember them, still...”
he tapered off there, looking at Harry suddenly as though he’d forgotten he was there and then returned his gaze to the fire, refusing to elaborate. For a moment Harry sat there, thinking through what he’d just been told. He’d known that Malfoy’s father was hardly a caring man but still, to do that to his own son, tell him terrible stories night after night, punishing him for being scared, the fact that his own son deprived himself of sleep just to force himself to train more making him happy, it was unthinkable.
Just the idea of it made Harry’s blood boil and filled him with the abnormal instinct to both punch Malfoy’s father in the face and pull Malfoy into a hug. Instead of giving into the instinct, Harry softly asked “how old were you when he started?” Malfoy then looked across at him, brow furrowed in mistrust, before turning back to the fire and responding nonchalantly “five.”
At the reply Harry felt his rage return with a vengeance, Malfoy’s father had been doing this to him since he was five? The long-term effects on him must have been catastrophic! Harry looked over at the boy next to him, something churning unpleasantly inside him as his attention caught once more to the deep purple marks under his eyes. Harry wondered how long it had been since Malfoy had had a good night sleep.
Did he even get much sleep? Did he still train all through the night? Harry wasn’t sure he’d like the answer to those questions. And, whilst this didn’t justify all of Malfoy’s actions, it did explain them somewhat. After all, if you live in a household where you’re taught this kind of behaviour, Harry wasn’t sure it was very easy to let go of.
“I’m sorry.” Harry spoke gently, fixing Malfoy with a reproachful look. “What for?” Malfoy replied faux casually, “it’s not like I'm a child anymore. My father trained me not to hold onto childish things like fear, and now I don’t. I don’t see a problem with that.”
“Still,” harry dropped his voice to an even quieter tone, hand, seemingly by its own accord finding its way to Malfoy’s arm, resting there gently as he continued, “what your father did to you, I doubt anyone could just forget about it all -”
“- I don’t need your pity potter!” Malfoy snapped, moving his arm roughly away from Harry’s touch and shifting away from him, purposely avoiding Harry’s gaze. Meanwhile, Harry felt guilt swirl in his stomach as he tried to think of a way to rectify the situation.
His mind immediately went to one of his own similar experiences, he hadn’t told anyone, not even Ron and Hermione, and yet Harry felt Draco Malfoy might be the one person who would understand. “I used to be afraid of the dark.” Harry muttered. He didn’t get any response from Malfoy, but something told Harry he was listening, so he continued.
“When I was a kid, maybe around six, Dudley, my cousin, told me that when I fell asleep, he would come down the stairs and lock me in the cupboard. And then he, and my aunt and uncle, would leave me in there, and never let me out.” hearing himself now, Harry could tell how ridiculous the threat sounded, after all, the Dursley's weren’t exactly lovely people, but they wouldn’t have left him to starve. Still, he could remember how terrified he’d been at the time.
“I used to have to keep a light on, all through the night, I'd put it next to the keyhole at the cupboard, so I'd be able to see if anyone was coming. It was the only way I could get to sleep. I’ve outgrown it now but sometimes, on a particularly bad night...”
Malfoy still hadn’t spoken but Harry noticed how he’d shifted round to Harry again, close enough that their arms brushed against each other, face trained on harry with a considering expression. “All I'm saying is, fears like those, they don’t really leave you, no matter how much you, or your father, may want them to.”
Malfoy looked at him silently for a moment, before softly speaking, “Fear is like an assassin. Just because it’s not attacking, don’t think it’s not ready to strike.” Harry found himself nodding at the phrase, agreeing with it whole heartedly.
There was a moment of silence, before Malfoy spoke again “You know, my father had wanted me to be your enemy. He’d made it very clear that you were my competition, and that to uphold the family name I had to defeat you. But I never thought we’d be enemies. I always thought we’d be more than that, thought we’d be....”
Malfoy then paused, as if uncertain about his answer, whilst Harry waited for it with more anticipation than he should have. But in all honesty, he wasn’t sure what answer he wanted. “Allies.” Malfoy finished at last, as Harry felt disappointment settle in him, though he didn’t know why.
Still, Harry couldn’t really believe what Malfoy was saying, no matter how heartfelt it sounded. “If you didn’t want us to be enemies, then why did you try so hard to make us such enemies? You and your friends constantly bullying us, trying to make our lives difficult, don’t you hate us?”
“First of all, Potter” Malfoy began, tone weary and bitter, “I don’t have friends, I have guards. They fear me and respect me, but I doubt we like each other. Furthermore, you're the one who made it clear we were on opposite sides from the beginning, I'm merely reiterating the divide. And finally, despite how immensely annoying you and your group are, I don’t hate you. Circumstances have merely made it that I am not allowed to like you, even though I may want to!”
Malfoy then stopped quite suddenly, as if shocked by his own words, and put his head against his knees, trying to block Harry from sight. Harry himself was stunned by Malfoy’s outburst, was it true? Did Malfoy truly want to build a bridge between them? If so, well, Harry thought, it certainly wouldn’t be boring.
Thinking over his response for a few moments, he finally replied with a quiet, “perhaps it’s not too late to be... allies.”
Turning to Malfoy with a knowing smile. Malfoy then sat up slowly, and said in an almost imperceptible voice, “perhaps.” They were quiet for a while, both lost in their own thoughts, Harry uncertain whether he should break the silence – until he felt a warm, solid sensation falling gently onto his shoulder.
For a moment he froze, unsure what to do now he was facing the impossible reality of Draco Malfoy having fallen asleep on his shoulder, hair gently tickling his neck and his breaths falling softly against his ear. He considered the thought of gently rearranging Malfoy onto the ground and heading off to the campfire, but in the darkness of the forest, with no one around to see, Harry simply gave into his instinct and wrapped an arm gently around Malfoy’s shoulders, finding himself resting his head on top of Malfoy’s and falling asleep to the sound of gentle crackling from the fire.
He did not dream of the creature from the story, but he did dream of the storyteller.
***********
As he felt the sunlight peeking through the trees come to rest gently on his eyelids, Draco slowly opened his eyes and experienced a moment of pure, uninterrupted bliss. He'd had a good night’s sleep; it had the makings of lovely weather given the bright blue sky and despite having slept outside he felt incredibly comfortable, who knew that a tree trunk could feel so soft?
And yet, trees don’t usually breathe, or have hair, and though his sleep riddled mind was still struggling to wake up fully, he was awake enough now to know that he was not leaning against a tree but was in fact leaning against a still sleeping Harry Potter. He had fallen asleep on Harry Potter’s shoulder and was now waking up on Harry Potter. On Harry Potter’s shoulder. On... Potter... wait. On potter’s... - WHAT!?
Finally haven woken up enough to realize the full reality of the situation, Draco leapt up frantically with shock and mortification and rapidly pulled himself away from Potter, muttering curses under his breath the whole time. Of course, because the universe really did hate him, this then caused Potter to bloody sit up, rubbing his eyes blearily and asking quietly, “... Malfoy? What’s wrong.”
what’s wrong... what!? Did he have any idea of what just... what they just did... What does he mean what’s wrong!? Everything's wrong! God he’d been such an idiot, what had he been thinking, what had Potter been thinking? They were enemies, enemies didn’t... fall asleep on top of one another! Wait, had Weaselly asked him a question?
So lost in his own spiralling, Draco hadn’t even realized that Potter’s friends had woken up until Weaselly spoke awkwardly, “um... is everything alright?” Draco looked over at them, suddenly painfully aware of what he must look like, face burning crimson and hair askew, mouth hanging open stupidly as he desperately tried to form a response, no need for it to be dignified, just verbal, yet he stayed like that frozen on the spot, until Potter ended up having to come to his aid, replying “yeah, everything’s alright.”
Ron then nodded uncertainly and got to work packing away the supplies, which drew Draco’s attention to another unfortunate truth about his situation, the fact that he was going to have to travel with these people all day. With potter. All. Day.
Stupid. How could he have been so stupid, he should have never told Potter about his past, never should have even gone to the woods at all! And... oh god. Draco’s words from the night before came back to him with sickening clarity ‘I don’t hate you. Circumstances have merely made it that I am not allowed to like you, even though I may want to!’ well, it was official, his reputation was ruined. But maybe Potter didn’t remember? The way he reacted last night, it was almost as if he’d... ’perhaps it’s not too late to be... allies’
No! He would not get lost in fantasies (God, he was considering thinking about Potter a fantasy, what was wrong with him?) he would keep his head down, act like nothing had happened, and pray that Potter followed suit. Still, even with the plan in mind, Draco couldn’t help but feel he had a long, trying day in front of him.
The sun was mocking him. That was the only plausible explanation Draco could think of as, after a lifetime of walking, it had now reached evening and yet the sun would still not grant him the small mercy of slipping out of the sky and bringing on the night. They couldn’t search in the night, they’d have to go back to the school, Draco would get out of this damned forest and could pretend this whole ordeal had never happened.
All he needed was for the sun to disappear, and yet it stayed resolutely in the sky, the last of its light glaring down at him as it clung to the horizon, unmoving. Clearly it must have gotten together with the universe and planned on how to add just a bit more misery to this already draining experience. And truly, he didn’t think he could take it anymore, he’d spent the entire day in silence, focusing all his energy on trying to pretend Potter didn’t exist. And after all that effort, they hadn’t even managed to catch this goddamn creature, every path leading to a dead end and disappointment.
So yeah, it hadn’t exactly been a great day. But it could all be over if the sun would just go down. Draco waited other excruciating 10 minutes until finally he was granted his wish as the sun disappeared over the horizon and the sky became a twilight hue.
“Well,” the mudblood announced, sounding tired and put-out, “I guess we better head back to the school, we’re not going to find it in the dark.” Draco felt relief flow through him words, finally this could all be over. And yet...
as they walked back towards the school, Draco couldn’t help but feel uneasy, there was something in the air, a feeling, something... wrong.
Hadn't the sky gotten a bit too dark a bit too quickly? And whilst last night had been a bit cold, the wind blowing through now felt icy, striking, it seemed to run through his very soul. Still, he could be overeating, it had been a very long day after all, but something told Draco that blue ominous mist flowing into and around the surroundings was definitely a sign that something was wrong.
But just as Draco was about to point this out to the rest of the group, he realized that the mist had gotten so thick he couldn’t see them. “Hey. Where are you guys?” He called out irritably, significantly more uncomfortable now that he was isolated from everyone else, ironic given how much he’d wanted to get away from them.
Still, he couldn’t help but be relieved when he saw Weaselly a little way into the distance, shaking slightly and stumbling around in the fog. “Hey. Over here!” Draco shouted, waving to try and get his attention. It seemed that Weaselly hadn’t heard him though, because he continued to walk about aimlessly, or not quite aimlessly it seemed, instead he was heading for a highly unusual looking tree, very large with a deathly black trunk and long winding branches, that looked almost like... claws.
And was that his imagination, or did the tree just move slightly? Draco was about to call out a warning to his classmate – instead letting out a gasp as suddenly two of those long branches wrapped around Weaselly’s torso, dragging him up of the ground as he desperately tried to break free, calling out in fear. “Help!”
“I’m coming!” Suddenly Weaselly’s girlfriend, along with Potter, emerged from the mist and with a flick of her wand she cried out “Diffindo!” Immediately the branches were cut in half, leading to Weaselly’s ungraceful descent to the ground. From there he hurriedly got to his feet and scrambled over to the rest of the group, Draco himself having wondered over there too during the fighting.
The tree, or creature it seemed, had disappeared into the mist, causing the group stand on edge waiting for it to strike.
“Any clue what that thing is?” Draco whispered, trying to peer into the fog to see if he could make anything out. The boys both shook their heads, but the mudblood merely sighed and replied quietly, “Of course I do! It’s called a kludde, a demonic shapeshifter. It can take any form it wants, traps its prey in the mist and devours them.”
“Sounds delightful.” Draco replied sarcastically, trying to quench down the panic beginning to rise in him, “do you know of any way to kill it? Any weaknesses?”
The Mudblood then looked down for a moment before replying sheepishly, “not exactly.”
“Great, great! that is just... great.” Draco hissed; panic having turned into downright fear.
“Anything else we should know about?” Potter asked, keeping his wand trained on the tree line. Just then, a sudden flash of blue fire swiped across the group, causing everyone to jump out of the way of the flames, Draco himself only narrowly avoiding getting set on fire by throwing himself to the ground.
“They can also breathe fire.” The mudblood called out unnecessarily. From his unflattering position in the dirt, he then called out angrily to her “thanks for the heads up!” just then however, he could see something dark and menacing swooping down towards her, causing him to call out hastily “Hermione! Look out!”
However, she looked up a second too late as the creature, now taking the form of a midnight black falcon, took her cloak in its claws and flew her up of the group, pecking its beak furiously onto her face as she fiercely tried to fight her way free. Potter then came up behind the creature and holding up his wand called out “stupefy!”
The falcon then let go of her but did not get hit by the spell, instead twisting out of the way and flying back into the fog. As Ron went to go help her up, everyone else in the group then began to look cautiously around the mist, trying to find any dark or unusual shapes, however Draco’s instincts told him to go another way, searching the almost unseeable ground for anything out of place. For the first few moments there was nothing, and then he saw it.
A shape, long and scaled, slithering along the dirt silently, heading straight for an unknowing Potter. Withought allowing himself time to think, Draco sprinted towards his rival, pushing him to the ground just as the serpent rose up and lunged to strike, only managing to save himself by at the last second casting “Ventus!” The spell just pushed the demon snake back into the haze, but at least it hadn’t managed to attack Potter.
Or himself, obviously he cared more about his own safety than Potters!
Even as he thought this, Draco was already leaning down to help him up, snarky comment on his tongue – when suddenly he felt himself get thrown back! Pushed down by a massive, snarling, unmovable force, Draco felt his wand get flung out of his hand as his head made striking contact with a rock buried in the dirt, burning white stars flashing across his vision as a constant, heavy pounding forced its way behind his eyelids causing his vision to become unfocused, the edges of his surroundings turning fuzzy and unclear.
He couldn’t really think properly, each half-formed idea disappearing into the pain. But Draco knew that he needed to get up. Laying down was bad, if he layed down for too long he might fall asleep, and he didn’t know why but he knew that right now falling asleep would be really really bad. So yeah, he needed to stand up.
But as Draco tried to push himself up of the ground, he felt something sharp, he was pretty sure they were claws, digging into his skin, leaving a burning throb of pain as every small movement drew them in deeper and caused something warm running down his chest. Blood, he was bleeding, he was bleeding a lot and that... that wasn’t good either.
The blood loss was making it harder to stay awake, but he couldn’t fall asleep, so he tried to get up, by trying to get up only made him bleed more, making him more tired, and he couldn’t think, but he needed to get up, why couldn’t he get up? Something was stopping him, sharp things, claws, further up, a paw, a leg. A beast? What kind of beast?
Hermione had said a name to him, he couldn’t remember, but this looked like a wolf, only darker with blood red eyes. did he have blood on him, he couldn’t feel it now, he was going numb, which he was pretty sure was bad too, and creature was leaning in, fangs bared, his wand was gone, he couldn’t stop it. He was too tired to stop it, was someone calling his name?
Too tired to answer, too much pain, can’t think, can’t breathe, too late... Potter. Potter with his wand, and he’s shouting something, it’s sounds like “Confringo” a roar, and suddenly the pressure is gone, and Draco can breathe again, but he can’t get up, the world was spinning, and he was too tired, but he needed to stay awake. Couldn't fall asleep, needed to... his vision went black, and Draco fell into the darkness.
***********
Harry knew, before he’d even opened his eyes, that he was in the infirmary. It was slightly alarming that he’d been in here enough to simply recognise it by the feel of the bed and the smell of disinfectant, but he’d worry about that later. First checking that he wasn’t seriously injured, lucky for him it was just a few scrapes and bruises, he then went through the agonisingly slow process of sitting up and looking for his friends.
He spotted them almost right away, relief flowed through him at the sight of them both not having major injuries and sleeping peacefully from the sound of Ron's snoring. However, this relief soon gave way to panic as after a bit more searching, he still couldn’t spot Malfoy.
Malfoy, who'd almost died trying to save him, Malfoy who’d he’d had one of the most truthful conversations he’d ever had with in the darkness of the night, Malfoy who he was just starting to develop feelings for, confusing and unexplainable but very real feeling for, and now Harry was really panicking because where on earth could he -
“Looks like your finally awake Potter, how marvellous.”
Malfoy, who was sitting by his beside and giving him an irritating quip yes, but probably one he deserved for not looking there in the first place. As glad as he was that Draco was safe, he couldn’t help but be concerned by the sight of stark white bandages underneath his sleep shirt and the way Draco sat, slightly hunched over in his chair, as though trying to catch his breath.
Quietly, he then asked, “shouldn’t you be resting? You took quite a few hits back there.” Draco then answered dismissively, “I’ve dealt with worse, besides.” he then raised his eyebrows and continued jokily “not all of us can be as lazy as you Potter.”
“Lazy?” Harry replied, making his face angry but keeping his tone playful, “I’m not the one who slept through half the battle.” Draco then huffed indignantly and answered proudly, “I was simply finding it too easy, decided I needed to give the rest of you a chance to practise your skills.”
“Sure.” harry responded dryly, meanwhile making space on the end of his bed and motioning for the other boy to come sit down, reasoning “It’s got to be more comfortable than that chair at any rate.” Draco then hesitated for a moment, a faint blush coming over his cheeks before wordlessly standing up and shuffling his way onto the bed, carefully arranging his legs underneath him.
Harry looked across at him, trying to keep his own blush in check, before smirking and asking Malfoy annoyingly, “You know that this means Ron’s story is better than yours, right? After all, his one became true.”
Draco then frowned crossly and warned menacingly “oh just you wait Potter. It’ll be appearing in your dreams soon enough.” Harry then looked at him with faux disapproval and responded, “well, that’s no way to speak to the person who saved your life, now is it?”
Malfoy merely said to him petulantly “I saved your life first. In fact, I -” “Be that as it may,” Harry continued, finding some humour in Malfoy’s disgruntled expression, no doubt from being cut short, “I think you’ve got no other choice than to be my... ally now.” Harry then raised his eyebrows and looked expectantly at the boy across from him, trying to conceal his own nervousness while he waited for the answer.
For a moment, Malfoy merely sat there, seemingly shocked, before answering quietly. “Very well Potter, tell me what this, ‘being allies’ would entail.”
“Well,” Harry began, letting out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding and motioning for Malfoy to come closer, which he did with no hesitation this time, “It would involve quite a bit of handholding I’m afraid.”
At this, Harry then gently placed his hand on top of Malfoy’s, looking up at him then and daring him to make the next move. Malfoy then swallowed thickly and moved his own hand to Harry’s arm, and replied, “I can live with that. What else?”
Harry, now trying to ignore the burning sensation on both his arm and his face, leaned in a little closer and said, “Pet names.” at that, Draco made a disgusted face and pushed Harry playfully down onto the bed, placing his free hand directly next to Harry’s face and leaning over him, essentially trapping him, not that he minded much, and replying “I think I’ll stick to Potter. And let me guess, I must let you win some of our fights now?”
Harry then smiled and raised his free hand to rest at the back of Malfoy’s head, fingers tangled in his hair as he responded cheekily “oh, but you win so few of them. It wouldn’t be fair.”
In response, Draco took his hand not resting on the bed and placed it on Harry’s cheek, speaking softly, “I think you’re missing one.”
“And what would that be?” Harry whispered quietly; air full of anticipation, hand now locked in Malfoy’s golden locks and eyes lost in Malfoy’s mystic gaze.
He didn’t know who went in first, him or Malfoy, but in a second their mouths were pressed together, not starting soft but immediately hard, deeper, consuming.
This kiss did not just make sparks fly, it was a fire itself, raging and powerful. A battle of wills, of strength, neither one of them letting go, both fighting in unison, giving all they had just to sustain it.
But it could not be controlled, it was wild and beautiful and fulfilling and endless, and Harry needed air, but he didn’t care because this was the most glorious thing he’d ever felt, and he never wanted it to stop.
He’d known kissing Draco Malfoy wouldn’t be boring, but he hadn’t known it would be magical.
Finally, after a lifetime of this magic, they parted ways, both gasping and smiling, Malfoy falling forward to rest against his shoulder, both laying against each other as they calmed down. When he felt he could speak, Harry turned to his enemy, rival, and ally, and asked quietly. “Want to do that again sometime Malfoy?” Malfoy smiled, already leaning in, and replied, “perhaps Potter, perhaps.”
The end.